Versatile
by uniqueinkblots
Summary: Eddie was far more complicated than people typically realized. Yes, he fell for Patricia. But it wasn't love at first sight like everyone thought it was. He didn't approach her looking for a girlfriend or looking for love. He approached her looking for himself. Peddie oneshot.


**A/N: **Hi there. This is just a quick little one-shot exploring the character of Eddie (when he first arrived) in relation to Patricia. I have no clue where this came from. I should be updating UTS and NADM or even doing my final projects for school but instead here I am, writing random one-shots. So this is a product of my procrastination! Hope you like it though :)

**Disclaimer: **I own nothing.

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**_Versatile:_ **_Capable of or adapted for turning easily from one to another of various tasks, fields of endeavor, etc._

Because let's face it: Eddie was a lot more multifaceted than people gave him credit for.

* * *

Eddie was far more complicated than people typically realized. He was a pretty deep person although no one at Anubis House knew this. Not at first. And for the most part? Not even later on. But that was how he liked it.

He used to be internally offended. People wrote him off as an air headed blond jock who was _American_. As if coming from America was such a bad thing. He had no idea how Nina managed to adjust as well as she did what with all the prejudice...but he saluted her for it. And besides! Mick fit that description far better than Eddie did...minus the part about being American. So essentially, Eddie almost wished people knew him for who he really was. _Almost._

_Reputations matter, _Eddie reminded himself, staring at the ceiling that first night in Anubis House. His one condition to coming to England be that his connection to Mr. Sweet be kept a secret. If he had even a chance of fitting in...well. He couldn't arrive as the principal's mysterious son from across the Atlantic Ocean. That would blow any chance Eddie had at normalcy. And normalcy was something he craved.

But being related to the school principal wasn't the only problem. Eddie was _intelligent. _He wasn't sure if that would be an issue or not, but he didn't care to find out. Not here. He had always been a bit of a class clown in America but he had also been interested in his studies...it was inevitable! His father was a principal, and his mother was a school teacher. Education ran through his very blood.

He liked to read. Sure, he usually stuck to fantasy and fiction, but still. Reading was a dying hobby, everyone knew that. It was surprising that a teenage boy like him bothered to read at all. He was also interested in history. Every once in a while he'd flip from his zombie apocalypse flick to a documentary on Mayan culture or the American Civil War. Because he found it interesting, knowing about the people who had roamed the earth before him.

But being teased wasn't fun. His teachers had recommended him for the Academic Team in which he had excelled. But suddenly, he lost his perfect balance. His world of paying attention to school _and_ being a teenage boy morphed into solely being an academic champion. He was at the top of his class! And that scared him. Because there were kids who wanted it...who worked for it...and well. He did neither of those things. Not whole heartedly at least.

He wanted to know his father. He wanted to travel. He wanted another shot at school, at fitting in. He wanted to _discover _himself.

And before he knew it, he had changed schools.

_And this time will be different, _Eddie promised himself from the unfamiliar bed in the unfamiliar room with whom he shared with an unfamiliar boy.

Fabian reminded him of himself. He was the classic nerd. Geeky and shy, yet remarkably intelligent and surprisingly decent looking. Fabian liked to learn. He was a history buff too. And Eddie _knew _Fabian liked to read. The kid had more books lying around than he did clothes. (A fact that Eddie constantly teased him about.)

And while Eddie immediately realized Fabian wasn't necessarily being bullied, he did notice he was messed with a bit. Taken for granted too. And Eddie was done with that. Besides, the role of geeky school kid was already taken. He wanted to be someone else now.

That first night he spent in Anubis House? That was the night he decided he wanted to be on top. Books and academics could be appreciated in secret. But outwardly...he wanted to be the class clown. The fun kid. The bad boy. He wanted to make a _name _for himself.

That was going to be harder than he thought if he didn't get a plan of action. And as he tossed and turned in bed, he vowed to himself he would make it all happen. He wanted to succeed in this place...more than anything.

* * *

His first encounter with Patricia literally blew his mind. But not for the classic reasons. It wasn't love at first sight. In fact, he could barely stand her other than the fact the she was fun to verbally spar with, very easy to agitate, and amusing to tease. She easy on the eyes too.

Fine. Admittedly, he loved being around her. She was gorgeous on top of that. But mostly he liked her because...she was everything he wasn't. Everything he was sometimes afraid to be.

She was spunky and loud. She was opinionated and sometimes rude. Daring and witty to the point of being unapproachable. She was...kind of freaking perfect.

Eddie wanted to rile his father with his mini transformation. He wanted to show him that he was more than just grades. He was a little ashamed but...he wanted to hurt him by being the bad boy. Wanted to give him a wake up call. He also sought to protect himself and make a reputation for himself...but he'd be lying if he didn't admit to trying to get a rise out of his father. Was it so bad to want him to _care?_

And that's why hanging around Patricia was essential. He _needed _her influence. Being a rebel wasn't completely foreign to him, he wasn't trying to become someone else. It was just a side of him he hadn't properly explored and now wanted to. And she made that vastly easier.

At first, she was just a pretty face. A pretty face that was convenient. He had never expected to fall in love with her. But of course, that's exactly what happened.

* * *

_6 months later..._

"Wait up, doofus!" Patricia caught up to Eddie and flung her arms around his neck from behind, giggling all the while. "Give me a ride?"

He snorted. "I don't think so, Williamson," he retorted. Instead, he took her books from her arms and carefully balanced it in one hand, offering his other with a wide grin. "I'll walk you home."

She took his hand and beamed. They were so in love.

Within mere weeks of knowing her, Eddie realized they were a lot more similar than he had initially realized. For one thing, they both wore masks.

Patricia wore dark clothing, lashed out at people, and remained aloof. But that's because she didn't want to be hurt. She remained on the defensive. It took Eddie _ages _to break down her walls. Patricia appeared uncaring to hide that she was truly the opposite. She cared very much. She was as soft as the other girls. But she liked to appear different, which was something that Eddie understood. And respected.

Eddie's mask was...not really a mask. He really did enjoy pranking people and making clever comments. He was naturally witty. But he was also naturally intelligent. He had a sneaking suspicion he was just as good as Fabian. (In fact, hiding his good grades was a lot harder than he thought it would be.) Eddie didn't even study much. He even made it a point to skip a class once a week. But he had done a lot of outside reading and he did the bare minimum to maintain his scholarship and he couldn't help it if he tested well! Besides, he liked the hint of jealously and curiosity that graced his roommate's face when the top scorer wasn't him.

Everyone would always guess Fabian, and every once in a while the teachers would smirk and shake their head. Because sometimes it was Eddie. Everyone would demand that the top scorer reveal himself, but Eddie never did. He didn't want that kind of attention. And he was grateful that his teachers kept it quiet...they seemed to sense his need to hide that part of himself from the world. They would beam at him proudly, but they never said a word.

And even when Eddie wasn't number one...he was nearly always number two, only a point or two behind Fabian's marks. So yeah, hiding his intelligence took some effort! He hid beyond pranks, jokes, laziness...little parts of his personality that already existed...but that he chose to _accentuate, _just to stay hidden.

Patricia was the only one who knew. She had found out the week before Christmas break.

_"Eddie, we've got to get you packed! You have to be at the airport in a couple hours and your stuff is all over the place!" Patricia dug through his closest, searching for his good shirts._

_"You're managing me because you're afraid of being away from me," Eddie teased._

_"Quite the opposite. I'm afraid you'll miss your flight and then I'll be stuck with you all break." Patricia giggled at Eddie's pout and continued to rummage through his closet. She fell across a test paper and her jaw dropped. "Eddie Sweet!" she gasped. "You got a 103 on the chemistry midterm? The super hard exam that half our class failed? Oh my god!"_

_Eddie groaned and reached for the paper. "Give me that!"_

_They sat cross-legged on the floor, ignoring the bags waiting to be packed and talked. About everything. The chemistry grade. The intelligence behind the chemistry grade. His insecurities. His goals for the "personality transformation" that really wasn't a transformation at all, but a simple extension of his very complicated character. They talked about his initial intentions with her...what attracted him to her. And the intentions that later developed when he truly fell for her._

_He expected her to be angry. He sat on the ground, throat dry from all the talking. Somewhere in the middle of his confession, Patricia had stood and resumed packing his bags. She stood with her back to him, folding the last shirt and closing the last bag shut. He waited patiently, cursing his stomach for flipping flopping and silently yelling at his heart to stop pounding. He thought it might beat right out of his chest, he was so nervous._

_Eventually, Patricia turned around. He expected anger but instead she smiled understandingly...empathetically. She flung her arms around his neck and pulled away, only to redirect her attention to his lips. Kissing him deeply, she finally released him and snorted at his dazed expression. "I knew I didn't fall for an idiot," she teased. "I'll keep your Einstein status to myself provided you tutor me in chemistry...in secret of course!"_

_He chucked and pulled her in for another kiss. "Deal," he said, pulling away. "I'm going to miss you this week."_

_"You know I feel the same."_

* * *

Eddie got lucky with Anubis House. He got lucky with Patricia too. He considered himself blessed.

His first night at Anubis house had been full of fearful reflections.

But as he lay in bed, the night before spring semester was over, he couldn't help but grin at the blank ceiling. Things had really worked out for him.

After all, it was all a matter of being versatile. He had finally found himself. All of himself. And though he wasn't ready to show part of that to all his new friends...it was still there. And the person he cared about most knew. _Patricia _knew. And somehow, that was all that mattered.

* * *

**A/N: **Woah ok done. This was longer than I thought it would be. It's super disorganized and heavy on Eddie's thoughts rather than external action. I didn't intend for that to happen but it just kind of did? I wrote this because I am convinced that Eddie is secretly a genius (especially at chem) and also because I'm very very random. I hope you liked it despite all that! And if you did, I encourage you to check out **Never A Dull Moment: **a collection of peddie drabbles and one-shots that happens to be a prompt oriented fic. It's so much fun! Also - reviews are welcomed and treasured :)


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